City planners look to public for input on LSD transformation project

Share Update:

City planners look to public for input on LSD transformation project

It’s years away, but city planners are asking for the public’s input on plans to transform North Lake Shore Drive. Overhauling the 7-mile stretch will more than likely cost hundreds of millions of dollars and work on the project probably won’t start for at least five years. But public input is expected to help shape the plans.

Civic groups are calling for lower speed limits and accommodations for quicker transit trips by adding bus-only lanes. The plan would make Lake Shore Drive more compatible with city boulevards rather than expressways. Another top priority is improving lakefront access.

Transportation officials are studying ways to expand the shoreline near downtown beaches, to help ease overcrowding and to alleviate flooding on the roads due to high waves during heavy storms.

Officials at I-DOT and C-DOT have some priorities on their list.

They include: Adding lakefill to reconfigure the Oak Street curve to prevent spinouts and crashes; improving traffic flow at pinch points, such as the Hollywood and Belmont Avenue exits, where traffic frequently backs up; and possibly consolidating some of the ramps to reduce dangerous merge and weaving patterns, said Luann Hamilton, CDOT deputy commissioner.

If you’re interested in attending any of the meetings, they are open to the public. Each meeting will be held from 6 to 8 p.m.

Aug. 6 at Gill Park, third-floor meeting room, 825 W. Sheridan Road

Aug. 7 in the atrium of Truman College, 1145 W. Wilson Ave.

Aug. 8 in the South Gallery of the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, 2340 N. Cannon Drive